Liza

Mar 022013
 

Party Ideas to Celebrate Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful Party Ideas

I love a themed party, which you probably could tell from my Avengers family night and Minnie Mouse party ideas for Bubbles’ birthday party.  I have some fun ideas planned for some of this summer’s upcoming movies and one of them may just need to be an Oz the Great and Powerful party.  I am so anxious to see it after hearing all the great reviews.  Fortunately it opens next week so the wait is almost over.  We’ve actually been invited to a pre-screening early next week and I’m hoping that we’ll be able to attend.

Oz the Great and Powerful Party Ideas

Images courtesy of Brit+Co.

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Feb 282013
 

Iced Coffee Recipe: Mocha Parfait Shots

Iced Coffee Recipe: Mocha Parfait Shots

Last year I fell in love with the new International Delight Mocha Iced Coffee and shared with you a couple of coffeehouse recipes that you could make at home.  Almost nine months later and I’m still drinking my DIY iced coffees at home.  Not only does it help me save a few dollars but it’s much more convenient.  Instead of driving to a coffee shop every time I get the hankering for a cold coffee beverage I just have to reach into the fridge.

As much as I have been enjoying my ID Mocha Iced Coffee I had decided that I needed to cut back just a bit.  Summer is just around the corner and that means tank tops and swimsuits so a girl needs to watch her waistline just a bit.  I was exceedingly happy, then, when on a recent trip to the store I found that International Delight had read my mind.  There, on the shelf, was a Light version of my favorite Mocha Iced Coffee!

Iced Coffee Recipe: Mocha Parfait Shots

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Feb 252013
 

Inspire Creative Play with Wow Toys

Twin Race Cars and a Royal Princess Carriage from WOW Toys

Bubbles is at a fun stage with her toy play right now.  You can almost see the little wheels turning in her head as she thinks about how she wants to interact with them.  Blocks have gone from just random stacking and tall towers to creating paths for cars to follow and walls to hide behind for hide and seek.  Baby dolls get fed and tucked in, while her pets get “washed” and go for walks.

Of course not all creative play with her toys makes sense – to me, at least.  More than one princess has found her way into the fridge instead of her toy bins when it’s time for pick up.  Horses sometimes get to drive the tractors while the farmers ride in the wagon.  And some of those dog baths have taken place in the soup pot from her kitchen.  It can be hard not to say “Oh no, honey, here, this is how you do it” (though I do have to occasionally remind her the ice cream cone is just for pretend and please don’t actually lick it).   But I try my best to encourage her creativity, imagination, and role play.

So when her princess and horse-drawn carriage ended up at the starting line with two twin race cars (one driven by the prince that normally steers the carriage) I didn’t bother explaining that a horse was going to be no match for a race car.  I just watched the action!  The race cars are friction-powered so once they’re revved up a bit they definitely can out-race the horse, but she evens the playing field by running the horse down the hall ahead of them.  (She also squeals with delight when I send the cars racing after her.) Continue reading »

Feb 232013
 

Toddler Games and Toys from Melissa & Doug

Toddler Games and Toys from Melissa & Doug

It’s hard (for me) to believe, but Bubbles turned 2 this past week.  It’s cliché to say but time really does seem to fly by with kids this age.  I can remember when she would fit in the nook of my arm while I was feeding her.  Today when I pick her up to give her a kiss, her feet dangle against my knees.  And that’s when she stops moving long enough for me to pick up!

As Christmas was just a few weeks ago (and because this mama has a hard time not buying things at the store as I see them) we didn’t really want to go overboard for her with gifts.  We did, however, want to get her some things and I wanted to make sure they were toys that would keep her entertained and engaged for a few months (when your birthday and Christmas are so close together, there’s a reaaallly long dry spell for gift-giving occasions in between).  She has a few key interests right now that we’d like to nurture: puzzles, dolls, coloring, her kitchen, blocks, anything Disney, and toys like trucks and trains (the last one much to my husband’s delight).

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Feb 212013
 

Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday With Fun Activities

Dr. Seuss Quote

Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

The anniversary of Dr. Seuss’ birthday is coming up on March 2nd.  Born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904, Dr. Seuss wrote dozens of children’s books that are still extremely popular today.  One of my favorites is “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”  I received a copy from a family member for my high school graduation and I still have it.

A number of his books have also been made into movies and television shows, such as Horton Hears a Who!, The Lorax (whom I had the pleasure of “meeting” at Blissdom last year), The Cat in the Hat, and the classic Christmas tale The Grinch That Stole Christmas.  We’ve enjoyed most all adaptations, but especially love both versions (animated and live version with Jim Carrey) of The Grinch; we watch them every Christmas. Continue reading »